Kevin Durant Joins Houston Rockets in Blockbuster Trade Deal
Kevin Durantis officially headed to theHouston Rocketsafter a blockbuster trade with thePhoenix Suns. The news was revealed earlier in New York atFanatics Fest.
In exchange, the Suns will receive rising starJalen Green, defensive anchorDillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in this year's NBA Draft and five second-round selections. The deal is expected to be finalized on July 6, when the NBA's new league year begins.
Durant had previously named Houston, Miami and San Antonio as preferred destinations. At Fanatics Fest in New York, he reaffirmed his excitement about the move, calling Houston 'very fitting' and expressing confidence that he'll be a strong addition to the team.
The Rockets, who finished as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference last season, are now even more of a title threat. Durant averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists over 62 games last season and holds the NBA's longest active streak of averaging at least 25 points, 50% Field Goal, and 40% from three for three straight seasons according toESPN.
He currently has one year left on his contract, worth $54.7 USD million, and is eligible for a two-year extension with the Rockets which can range up to $122 million USD. The move not only strengthens Houston but also shifts the balance of power in the Western conference.
Check out Durant's reaction to the trade below.
Kevin Durant on his trade, his happiness, recruiting Russell Westbrook, and on how dangerous the Houston Rockets will be next season!@KDTrey5pic.twitter.com/PGIefIxQIp
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams)June 22, 2025
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
20 minutes ago
- New York Times
Hunter Brown bolstering Cy Young candidacy, learning ‘how to separate himself from the rest'
HOUSTON — Forty-five major-league starters have thrown at least 750 four-seam fastballs this season. None has allowed a lower batting average or slugging percentage against the pitch than Hunter Brown, the budding ace and bedrock of a beaten-up Houston Astros pitching staff. Baseball Savant assigns every pitch a run value to measure effectiveness. Brown's four-seam fastball has the second-highest mark in the sport, higher than Paul Skenes' prolific four-seamer, teammate Framber Valdez's sinker or Jacob deGrom's slider. It is, by most public metrics, one of the best pitches in baseball. Advertisement Wednesday evening, Brown abandoned it altogether. He bolstered his American League Cy Young candidacy as a result. Brown reprised his role as the Astros' stopper during their 4-1 win against the Boston Red Sox, shielding his short-handed bullpen to salvage a series win. In doing so, though, Brown exhibited an evolution that will resonate beyond one ballgame in mid-August. Valdez is all but guaranteed to test free agency this winter, where he will command the type of contract this franchise does not give. In his presumed absence, Brown will be the Astros' unquestioned ace, the pitcher to whom an entire team turns for stability every fifth day. Those who thrive in the role are remarkable adapters, either on days without their best stuff or when an opponent takes away what makes them great. Brown faced both circumstances Wednesday. 'That's how you separate yourself from the rest,' manager Joe Espada said. 'You have to be able to pick that up, go in the video room and (see), 'What are they doing against this pitch?' … It's the difference in the maturity of Hunter Brown.' In Diesel we trust.#BuiltForThis — Houston Astros (@astros) August 14, 2025 Seventeen of Brown's first 32 pitches were four-seam fastballs. Too many of them missed the strike zone to Brown's glove side, enraging an emotional pitcher who perceived something amiss. Brown walked two batters and surrendered two hits during a 22-pitch second inning. Nine of the balls Brown threw were four-seam fastballs. After misfiring on three consecutive ones to Wilyer Abreu, Brown stormed off the mound and turned his back before catcher Yainer Diaz could throw him a new baseball. 'His fastball wasn't necessarily working, but we were able to use the rest of his repertoire of pitches to get through the game,' Diaz said through an interpreter. Advertisement Brown did not generate a swing-and-miss until his 32nd pitch, when Connor Wong waved through one of the few wicked four-seamers he threw. Wong struck out, stranded two Red Sox in scoring position and sent Brown into the clubhouse searching for answers. 'You look back when he was probably the best pitcher in the league the first two months of the year — he pitched,' Astros pitching coach Josh Miller said. 'He used his changeup. Used his curveball. He can (pitch) backwards, go forwards. He can still step on the gas and come at you with the hard stuff.' Brown threw 15 four-seam fastballs to the final 18 Boston hitters he faced. Only one touched third base — and Brown balked him from first to second. Throwing more curveballs and changeups against a left-handed-heavy lineup threw off Boston's approach to hunt fastballs. Sixteen of Brown's first 23 starts this season featured at least 37 four-seam fastballs; twelve of them saw Brown throw the pitch at least 40 percent of the time. Brown faced this same Red Sox lineup Aug. 1 and threw 45 four-seamers. The 22 curveballs he spun Wednesday were his third most in a start this season. Boston saw just nine at Fenway Park earlier this month. 'That's just kind of the nature of the game, and you have to be prepared for it. Have to have plan A, B and C to each guy,' Brown said. 'I love that I can lean on a changeup on a given day or lean into my slider/cutter, even with my two-seam, to some guys that maybe I don't want to. 'In the big leagues, you have no choice, really. If you try to do the same thing over and over and it's not working, you're going to find yourself out of the game. Sometimes you just have to flip the script and make an adjustment.' Brown is nowhere near a finished product, a fact his fabulous stats might make some forget. He only entered baseball's elite echelon last May, when he introduced a two-seam fastball to establish an inside presence. That, in turn, made his four-seam fastball more effective. Advertisement 'He just kind of browbeat guys with hard stuff,' Miller said. 'This year, he's learned how to pitch a little bit more, and it's gotten better each start.' Wednesday offered more proof. Brown had nothing near his best stuff but still reached the seventh inning, a byproduct of a more diverse arsenal. He lowered his ERA to 2.45 after 24 starts. Among qualified American League starters, only reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal has a lower one. Presuming the teams stay in rotation, Skubal and Brown are scheduled to oppose each other at Comerica Park next week, offering Brown another chance to separate himself from the rest. 'He's becoming a very big star,' Diaz said. 'We hope he continues that way, and it says a lot of him that he has the repertoire of pitches and the versatility of pitches to be able to use them when something isn't working.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kenley Jansen calls out cheating Astros nearly a decade later
Kenley Jansen calls out cheating Astros nearly a decade later originally appeared on The Sporting News The 2010s were a period of time where two major sports leagues in the United States — the NFL and MLB — were mired by cheating scandals. In the professional football world, it was "Deflategate," the allegation that deliberately deflated footballs were used in the New England Patriots' 2014 AFC Championship Game win over the Indianapolis Colts. And in baseball, it was the Houston Astros' sign-sealing that made major waves when news of the scandal broke late in 2019. The Astros' scandal has stood the test of time and vehemently remains in the public conscience. On Sunday, Carlos Correa launched a home run against the New York Yankees and mimicked a gesture Jose Altuve made during a similar celebration after hitting a walk-off round tripper against the same team in Game 6 of the 2019 American League Championship Series. Just two days later, a video of current Los Angeles Angels closer Kenley Jansen reacting to old footage of himself playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers was posted on the Jomboy Media "Talkin' Baseball" podcast's official page on X, formerly known as Twitter. The video, specifically, showed Jansen forcing then-Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Jake Lamb to hit an infield pop-up to earn a critical out in the ninth inning of a 1-1 game in 2017, which Jansen described as "the Cy Young-type, Mariano Rivera Kenley Jansen year." That season proved to be Jansen's best in the big leagues, as he pitched to a 5-0 record, 1.32 ERA and 0.75 WHIP; earned 109 strikeouts to just seven walks across 68.1 innings pitched and converted 41 of his 42 save opportunities. Jansen was so dominant that year that he claims that no one could have bested him — except for hitters on one team. "The only team who could've beat me that year was the Houston Astros. Nobody else," Jansen said. "We all know [why]." The Astros went on to win the World Series in 2017, and the validity of their victory has since been questioned as a result of the scandal. There is a reason why Jansen's dislike of the Astros, now a divisional rival, remains to this day — his Dodgers team were defeated by the Astros in that series, thereby extending his wait for a championship title, which he eventually got in 2020.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Houston Rockets Not Prioritizing Kevin Durant Contract Extension
Houston Rockets Not Prioritizing Kevin Durant Contract Extension originally appeared on Fadeaway World. Kevin Durant's future in Houston isn't a pressing matter, at least not yet. According to a new report, the Rockets are not prioritizing an extension for the two-time Finals MVP this summer, instead focusing on other offseason business. While Durant remains a central piece of Houston's title ambitions, both sides are reportedly content to take a patient approach before entering serious contract talks. "There's not a sense of urgency to get it done right now. The Rockets have other business that they need to handle this summer," said ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "Primarily, the extension for Tari Eason. It was a big splash; it was a potential final piece that they needed to be a real-deal contender, that go-to guy they were sorely missing last season." As it stands, Kevin Durant is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, meaning that he could leave the Rockets after just one season with the team. While the 36-year-old legend is the Rockets' best player (26.6 points per game last season), the organization is not rushing to commit the next five years to the 2x Finals MVP. "They didn't push all their chips in; they were very patient as far as the pursuit of a trade for Kevin Durant. They waited until the price was at a value that they felt was comfortable for them," MacMahon continued. "Kevin Durant's their best player, he's not necessarily their priority. That's not an insult to him, but their priority is making sure they have as long of a runway as possible while trying to cash in on this window that they created by getting Kevin Durant." On his way out of Phoenix, Kevin Durant was actively working to hand-select his next destination. Despite no promise of a max extension, he chose the Rockets and left his NBA future open-ended. "Both sides want that to be more than a one-year window, but it's not gonna be a max extension. If that was the priority for Kevin Durant, it would've been done in conjunction with the trade, and he probably wouldn't have ended up in Houston. So, I think you'll see both sides take a patient approach.' Both sides are seemingly testing the waters on their next partnership. For Durant, he's still unsure what this tenure in Houston might bring. While he's optimistic about his team's title chances, he has an out next summer if things go horribly wrong, and history tells us he won't be shy about using it. For the Rockets, it would normally be ideal to secure a superstar for as long as possible, but they are not entirely convinced about how he'll fit with their younger roster. At nearly 40 years old, Houston isn't willing to sacrifice the stability of their young core to appease Kevin Durant. For both Durant and the Rockets, their entire partnership hinges on what happens in the 2025-26 campaign. If they can top their performance from last season and make a deep playoff run in the West, it could be all they need to agree on a long-term extension. Ultimately, both sides are in a feeling-out process. Durant is betting on Houston to give him one last legitimate shot at a title, while the Rockets are betting that his star power can elevate their promising young roster. If this season delivers on that potential, the groundwork will be there for a longer commitment. If not, this could end up being just another short stop in Durant's winding Hall of Fame story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Aug 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
